Recent hacks show the vulnerability investors can face when buying speculative tokens on startup exchanges

Cryptocurrency traders are learning that where they buy and sell digital tokens can be just as risky as choosing a coin or picking a price.

Investors have lost more than $700 million this year in hacks of two major cryptocurrency exchanges. The thefts at Florence, Italy-based BitGrail and Japan’s Coincheck bring total investor hacking losses since 2014 to around $1.4 billion, according to a Wall Street Journal review of recent hacks.